Abstract
Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is the leading and most preventable cause
of maternal mortality, particularly in low-resource settings. PPH is
currently diagnosed through visual estimation of blood loss or
monitoring of vital signs. Visual assessment routinely underestimates
blood loss beyond the point of pharmaceutical intervention.
Quantitative monitoring of hemorrhage-induced compensatory processes,
such as the constriction of peripheral vessels, may provide an early
alert for PPH. To this end, we developed a low-cost, wearable optical
device that continuously monitors peripheral perfusion via laser
speckle flow index (LSFI) to detect hemorrhage-induced peripheral
vasoconstriction. The measured LSFI signal produced a linear response
in phantom models and a strong correlation coefficient with blood loss
averaged across subjects (>0.9) in a large animal model, with
superior performance to vital sign metrics.
Funder
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development
Washington University in St.
Louis
Subject
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics,Biotechnology